Lester Elem School, Downers Grove IL

Original Research by School Decision on Lester Elem School

Lester Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Downers Grove, a prosperous western Chicago suburb with active civic life centered on a walkable downtown and Metra rail access. The school sits on a neighborhood campus typical of the district rather than in the downtown core, and draws from a stable residential area with a mix of mid-century homes and ongoing teardown-and-rebuild activity.

The student body at Lester is predominantly white, with a meaningful Latino enrollment and smaller Asian and multiracial populations. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch data or counts for special education or English learner students, so a parent looking for those figures would need to contact the school or district directly.

On the most recent state assessments available, Lester's proficiency reflects solid strength in the lower grades with some tightening as students advance. In third-grade English language arts and math, about three-quarters of students test proficient or above. Fourth grade shows stronger results, particularly in reading at roughly the upper 80s. By fifth and sixth grade, proficiency dips to the low-to-mid 70s in reading and the low-to-mid 60s in math. Fifth-grade science proficiency sits at 60 percent. These results place Lester in the top quartile among districts in DuPage County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, meaning it outperforms the median district in the county. The school achieved full test participation across its tested grades and subjects.

A note on grade bands: Lester reports results only through sixth grade because the school does not serve seventh and eighth grade; the district is in the midst of a structural transition to move sixth graders from elementary schools to middle schools beginning the 2026-27 school year. That change, along with broader facilities work funded by a district bond referendum approved in 2022, signals active investment and change in the district, which families should be aware of when considering school enrollment and housing.

The school is small-to-mid-sized for its grade band, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across grades, slightly heavier in the lower and middle elementary years. Lester sits within Downers Grove GSD 58, a district that has committed to significant infrastructure renovation of all 13 buildings through summer 2026, funded by a property tax increase that raises the tax rate and translates to added annual tax cost on district homes. Families moving to or staying in the area should factor in that commitment as part of the cost and timeline of living in the district.

The Downers Grove housing market shows median home values in the mid-range for suburbs west of Chicago, with ongoing price appreciation. Rental stock is also available, with median rent reflecting the area's semi-affluent suburban character. The market has reasonable inventory and is neither extremely hot nor slack; days-on-market suggest moderate demand. This is a neighborhood where families with school-age children form a substantial part of the resident base, and where schools anchor community routine alongside the downtown, parks, and Metra commute.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 78% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 67% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 69% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 63% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 69% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 76% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 74% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 65% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolDowners Grove GSD 58, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.